Another apple dessert: Apple omelette November 3, 2009

Apple by Abhijit Tembhekar

Apple omelette is so easy to make! It’s good warm or cold, simple or with icecream or jam. You’ll need 4 apples, 4 tbsp white flour, 4 eggs, cinnamon, some butter and around 1 cup of milk. Optional: rum, raisins, vanilla essence.

Instructions:

1. Peel and cut apples into cubes. Butter an oven proof deep dish and put the apples in.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Add rum and raisins, if using.
3. In a separate bowl, mix eggs with flour. Gradually incorporate milk.
4. Pour over apple cubes and bake at 375F for around 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

Photo credits: Abhijit Tembhekar

Pears in wine October 31, 2009

An interesting dessert for the wine lovers. Got the recipe from ecurry (beautiful pictures too!). You’ll need: 2 firm pears (very firm!), 1.5 cup red wine, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, orange grind and spices like whole cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon.

Instructions:

1. Peel pears, set aside.
2. In a pot, bring to boil wine and sugar. Then add all spices and keep on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Add pears. They need to be completely sunk in. Boil on low heat until pears are tender (30-40 min).
4. Remove and put aside. If serving immediately, continue boiling the sauce until it gets syrupy.
5. Serve with sauce and icecream.

Baked apples October 24, 2009

Bake some apples for a yummy, healthy sweet treat! First, soak some raisins into rum for 15 minutes. Peel and core apples (I confess that taking the core out was quite a challenge).

In a plate, mix 2-3 tbsp brown sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and cloves (powder). Roll apples through the mixture, then fill them with raisins. Bake in oven at 359F for 1 hour or until tender. Serve warm with plain yogurt and social biscuits.

Banana Chocolate Cookies October 13, 2009

Banana by Jason Gulledge

I had two ripe bananas that nobody was gonna eat, but I didn’t want to make a banana bread again. I googled for some recipes, and came up with one for banana chocolate cookies. You’ll need 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup (or less if you’re not a big fan of sweet things) sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 and 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon soda bicarbonate, 2 bananas, pinch of salt, chocolate (use as much as you want, depending on how strong you want the chocolate taste to be. You can use chocolate chips too).

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Mix butter with sugar (your life will be considerably simplified if you leave the butter at room temperature for 30 minutes before you start working on it).
3. In a separate bowl, mix egg with vanilla. Then gradually incorporate it into the butter mixture.
4. Add flour, pinch of salt, soda (I always dissolve it with one teaspoon of lemon juice) and bananas.
5. If using chocolate chips, simply add them. I used 2 squares of a cooking chocolate bar, melted it in a small pan (you can do it on the stove or in the microwave). Incorporate melted chocolate into the mixture.
6. If you want (and  I would highly recommend it), add some raisins and a bit of rum.
7. Using a spoon, place small round cookies on two baking sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Photo credits: Jason Gulledge

Amandine Bakery September 25, 2009

I love pastry. Pastry filled with mushrooms, pastry with sweet cheese, pastry with salty cheese, pastry with meat, pastry with vanilla filling, yummy pastry… Amandine Bakery and Pastry is located on Centre Street (2610 Centre St, N), easily accesible by bus from downtown. Like other places in Calgary, it closes at 6:30pm and at 4:00 pm on Sunday (I will never understand the logic of closing places just when people are finally getting home from work…). And, like most other places in Calgary, it sells the usual stuff: croissants, danishes, cookies, apple pies and some desserts. I was disappointed with this predictability: where are those thousand and one different pastries I was hoping for? There’s more to pastry than  croissants and danishes… But in the end, I got a danish and a croissant and paid $3 for them. The croissant was not at all impressive, but the danish was very yummy.

Eggless Raspberry Cake July 6, 2009

Cake batter

I ran out of eggs but still wanted to make a raspberry cake. It turned out really really delicious! You’ll need some 200 gr raspberries, 2 cups flour, one and a half cup milk, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup  cocoa, vanilla essence, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp baking soda, 1 tbsp vinegar.

Instructions

1. In a big bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa.
   

   Cake

2. Gradually incorporate milk.
3. Add vinegar.
4. Add vanilla essence.
5. Pour everything in a rectangular cake pan and spread it evenly with a spoon. Using your hand, spread the raspberries on top and push them gently in with the spoon.
6. Bake for some 45 minutes or until done (350F).

Sweets from another world June 23, 2009

Why is it that we do not have anything like this in Calgary? The closest you can get are small fruit tarts at T&T…

Best Eclair in Calgary: Pastry, croissants, tarts and other sweet stuff April 5, 2009

If you want to try some new desserts, beyond the usual cheese-cakes, you may try Eclair de Lune. The little store situated by Northmount Drive and 40th Ave NW (1049 40th Ave NW) has opened in 2008 and offers pastries, croissants, tarts and eclairs made by the owner.

The tarts are good, but what I really loved was the eclair: firm yet soft crust and a delicious chocolate cream inside.  I have tried the eclair in various other places in Calgary (Maria’s Market and Pita Wrap Desert Deli), but the one bought from Eclair de Lune was by far the best ($3.50). However, ask if it’s baked today – sometimes they have some left from the previous days, and they are not as fresh. Be warned that it’s not cheap though: a box with five desserts (three tarts, one eclair and one pastry) is $15.

Orange Jam and Walnuts Cake March 13, 2009

It will only take you some 10-15 minutes to prepare this cake, then leave it in the oven for about an hour. It combines the sweet-bitter flavor of orange peel jam and the distinct taste of walnuts – try it with tea or milk! You’ll need: 2 eggs, 2 tbsp orange peel jam, 6-7 tbsp sugar, 12 tbsp flour, 100 ml milk, 100 ml oil, baking soda and walnuts. Optional: raisins, rum.

Instructions

1. Mix eggs with sugar.
2. Gradually add milk and oil. Add baking soda (1 tsp dissolved in a bit of lemon juice).
3. Incorporate flour. If you’re using a bit of rum, incorporate now, as well as the raisins. You can soak the raisins into rum for a few minutes then toss in the batter.
4. Pour into pan.
5. Sprinkle with walnuts and the orange peel jam. To release the flavor of walnuts, you can roast them beforehand in a frying pan for some 5 minutes on the stove. If the batter is quite thick, the walnuts and the orange jam won’t sink in.
6. Put in the oven (350F) for one hour (or until golden).

Saffron Ricotta Pockets March 10, 2009

Red Saffron Threads

I have long wanted to try cooking with saffron, so when I saw the Greek saffron available at Maria market (for a pricey $8.50…), I just had to try it. After learning a bit about cooking with saffron (see link under Useful Cooking Tips), I’ve settled on saffron ricotta pockets as my first attempt. The dessert turned out simply delicious, with a special perfume and smell that I cannot truly describe. Here’s what you’ll need: 1/2 tsp saffron threads (or 1/4 saffron powder), 1 pack of phyllo pastry, 250 gr. ricotta cheese, 6 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp of white flour (optional, depending on how watery your cheese is), 2 tbsp of sour cream and some melted butter for the pastry.

Instructions

1. In a small cup, mix together the saffron threads/ poweder with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Let stand for 20 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, mix cheese, sugar, flour and sour cream. After the saffron has soaked in the lemon juice for 20 minutes, incorporate into the cheese mixture.
3. Take 3 phyllo sheets, and cut them into three parts. Repeat with 3 other sheets (you’ll have 6 pockets in the end).
4. Melt the butter, then gently brush each phyllo sheet. Put 3 sheets together, then drop 2 tbsp of the cheese mixture. Fold, brush with more butter and place on baking sheet, folding down. Repeat for all 6 pockets.
5. Heat oven at 400F and bake the pockets until golden. Decrease heat to 350, sprinkle some sugar and leave for 2-3 minutes in the oven. Serve hot.